The aesthetic of the organ symphonies of Widor and Vierne was, in large part, shaped by the instruments known to the two composers, primarily the sonorous and innovative creations of master-builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899), whose pipe organs are heard in several of today’s selections and whose 200th birthday anniversary is celebrated this year.

To mark the Cavaillé-Coll Bicentennial, and the 150th anniversary of his magnum opus organ at St. Sulpice in Paris, Fugue State Films will produce a high definition DVD/CD boxed set, available in 2012, the first ever full-length audio/video documentary about Cavaillé-Coll’s life and work. Click for more information.

In most of today’s recordings, the artists heard in individual movements have recorded the entire related work. Ben van Oosten, Charles Krigbaum, Jeremy Filsell, Martin Jean, and Pierre Cochereau have recorded the entire symphony cycles of both composers.

A complete concert performance of all five movements of Louis Vierne’s Fifth Symphony played by the prize-winning young American recitalist Joseph Ripka is available:

It was recorded during a Vierne Symphony Marathon presented by the Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, Mahtomedi, MN. You can also view Ripka’s performance of the Finale to this symphony in a YouTube video recorded at the Church of Saint Sulpice, Paris.